


The Universe Laughs With You

by KoboldKing



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Abandonment, Flash Fic, Gen, Spinel In The Garden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21943204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoboldKing/pseuds/KoboldKing
Summary: Spinel spends ages upon ages trying to figure out what makes this game so much fun. She plays and she plays while the laughing stars dance overhead.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 36





	The Universe Laughs With You

This was so... much... fun.

Her Diamond always had the funnest ideas for games. Games where they ran, games where they hid, games where they sang, games where they just laughed for the sake of laughing... Spinel didn't know much about the universe, being just a Spinel, but she was sure there wasn't anyone in the universe as fun as Pink Diamond.

This game was her funnest yet! It had to be, after all this build-up.

Standing here, hands clasped, endless stars above her, Spinel was happy. Maybe the fun came in from standing still for once—she never got to really appreciate how pretty her Diamond's garden was, or how the stars twinkled overhead like billions of laughing eyes. It was like the universe was laughing at her, and she loved it.

What a fun idea for a game! When her Diamond came back she'd bounce to her like a big rubber ball and tell her all about how much fun she'd had. She'd never known just how many stars there were! She'd never realized how much fun you could have staring at them—she'd come up with hundreds of names for the shapes they made! She called that star-shape 'Pink Diamond Smiling,' and that one 'Spinel Bouncing' and that one 'Pearl Frowning' and that one 'Warp Pad Turns On.'

The _funnest_ part was that as soon as she'd finished naming all the star-shapes on one side of the sky, she realized that all the stars had _moved!_ The shapes were all recognizable, but different now. Gee... either stars were faster than she thought, or this was the longest game she'd ever played.

This build-up was great. She had to catch herself from bouncing her knees up and down with anticipation. The rules were clear, after all—she had to stand very still. If she bounced around or tried to play another game it might distract her from the endless stars, or the dying plants, or the cracked pillars. Maybe the fun came in when her Diamond returned and asked her what had changed while she was gone—it was a spot-the-differences game! Only a Diamond as perfect as Pink could come up with a game so long and so entertaining.

She counted thousands of differences and happily waited, happily stayed, happily wondering when the warp pad would flash on and her Diamond would come skipping out to ask what she'd counted.

Maybe the fun came in then.

...maybe she wasn't doing this right.

Maybe... the stars hadn't moved enough yet. Some games took a lot of set up, after all. Still, they'd moved a bit from when she'd last thought much about them. She could finally start the game all over! Some of the star-shapes had changed enough that she could give them different names. There was 'Pink Diamond Playing Games,' and there was 'Spinel Waiting,' and that one was 'Pearl Out There With Pink Diamond' and that one was 'Warp Pad Turned Off.'

Maybe she hadn't given them the right names? Maybe she hadn't made the right shapes? Maybe she was missing the point of the game? Maybe she wasn't standing still enough? Her eyes had drooped a bit in the... what, thirty minutes since her Diamond had left? Thirty-three? Thirty trillion?

Had she lost?

Gee, that sure was a fun game. She'd lost but she'd had a lot of fun! When the warp pad flashed on and her Diamond came back, she'd pry her feet loose from the dirt and tell her how good at the game Pink was. They should play another. Maybe one of the old ones. Hide and seek or tag or just... anything. Absolutely anything. Spinel was sure she could make so many fun shapes with herself now. A ball or a chain or a spike or... or she could just twist herself so hard she poofed and came out better. A better Spinel who was better at games. Maybe that was what all this fun was building up to.

The stars knew. That was why they were laughing. The universe was laughing at her, and she... _loved_ it. Where would she be if there wasn't a big ol' laughing universe full of laughing star-shapes to tell her where she was.

What a nice surprise. They'd moved again.

She gave naming 'em another try. 'Pink Diamond Walking Away.' 'Pink Diamond With Her Other Friends.' 'The New And Better Spinel Playing With Pink Diamond.' 'Warp Pad Stays Off Forever.'

Boy. Fun sure didn't feel like it used to. Other games used to make her feel all bouncy and tingly all through her body. This fun felt like... something cold and heavy right where her gem should be. Something that pinned her down so she couldn't lift her feet.

Maybe this was what _real_ fun felt like. Maybe this was what she should get used to for when her Diamond came back. She could get used to this. The old fun drove her to play, and she was sure _this_ fun would drive her to play still more exciting games. As soon as she had the chance. When Pink came back she would pull up the vines around her feet and drag herself to her. And she would tell her she was ready for _any_ game in the universe.

Maybe that was the point of the game.

The warp pad flashed on. Something inside her bubbled up all at once, happy to have listened, happy to have stayed, happy to finally know how she was supposed to have played the game. But her Diamond wasn't here—Pink hadn't come home. The warp pad lit up but only played a message. A very strange looking gem was talking, telling a fantastic story. His name was Universe. He looked so happy.

She pried herself up. The heavy fun in her gem didn't hold her back—now it was driving her every step. She shambled to the warp pad and listened to his tale. There was something in her eyes as she realized the game had ended before it ever began.

The game didn't exist now. Neither did Pink. The star-shapes hadn't mattered. Neither had standing still.

Pink wasn't coming home. Neither was fun. The game didn't have a point, and neither did Spinel.

The stars twinkled overhead like billions of laughing eyes. Wasn't this funny? Wasn't this hilarious? Wasn't this the funnest game a Diamond had ever made up? At first Spinel cried, but soon she started laughing. The universe wouldn't cry for anyone, but it knew a good joke when it saw one. How could it miss a good joke when it was staring down at her for thousands of years.

That weight in her chest still moved her. Fun. That wasn't its name, was it? Other feelings had other names. But she didn't have another name, not yet. Maybe she'd pick up a better name for it along her way. She knew where to find some new toys to do whatever she liked with, and new toys were perfect for new feelings.

She could finally start another game.

And it would be... so... much... fun.


End file.
